42.4 Checking the Locks: Catcher

[crobillard]

We're back at it with the Checking the Locks series. This time coming off another Landis win. I've tried repeating before in Halifax and came up short. I will definitely be keeping my foot on the gas this year to try and push last year's division leaders, Boise, Calgary and Las Vegas to submit to my dominance just like they did last year in the playoffs.

This is a series where I will evaluate the options in each position leading into Spring Training. This is the first of eleven parts. I will be taking a look into the catcher position in this post.

Sure fire locks: Eric Fabre, David Katzenbogen

So this is definitely our most boring position and it has been since I've done this series for the Jackrabbits. It makes the first entry incredibly unexciting and really takes the steam out of the start of the year. We're supposed to have this huge hype, the start of the season, all of the uncertainty surrounding what will happen and the changes that have been made. This series is supposed to encapsulate that, but we just have fucking Eric Fabre again to talk about for the 90th time. I honestly don't even like him as much, but I guess he's okay for BBA.

Last season, I invited Leon Romo to Spring Training. I didn't bother this year because he sucks. I thought about cutting him, but I don't think I have anyone that would take his place yet, but his days are numbered in AAA clearly.

Fabre has solid seasons for a long time which allowed him to continue to hold down the starting position without any real opposition. That was before last season though, offense is up around the whole league and Fabre turns in a 0.4 WAR season on 134 games played and 505 at bats. He batted .228/.281/.388 fully and completely cementing himself into that 9th spot in the lineup. Wow. He's has a lot of ups and downs, but this is right after signing is big contract extension and Fabre turns into a huge dud.

If Fabre continues to flounder, is it possible that we could see Katzenbogen in a extended starting role? I'm not so sure. Katzenbogen's big draw is his phenomenal 14 rated defense at catcher. I mentioned it last year, but certainly that's the best the league has ever seen right? The problem for Bazooka is that Fabre isn't terrible behind the plate. He caught an incredible 35.8% of baserunners last season. I'm pretty sure he ended up being number 1 in the league among starters for that stat as anything above 30% is really good. Bazooka as a 12 rated arm though. The only time he started was with Madison his rookie season and he threw out 33.8% of runners. Last year in very limited time he threw out 44.4% of runners. Katzenbogen's bat is terrible too, so he could be a major liability for the team, so this is going to be a really tough decision that we'll need to battle with throughout the season.

As far as the locks go, both of these guys will make the team, but the starter on any given day is anyone's guess.

[jleddy]

The return of one of my favorite annual series.

[shoeless.db]

I'd love to see what kind of influence Katzenbogen would have on the defensive side for an entire season of playing time... but, I'm doubting many teams would be willing to put up with his bat.

[crobillard]

I'd love to see what kind of influence Katzenbogen would have on the defensive side for an entire season of playing time... but, I'm doubting many teams would be willing to put up with his bat.

You might see it. I'm tired of Fabre's shit. I don't think he should even be as good defensively as he is and his performance there is the only thing that makes giving him the boot so painful for me. I know Katzenbogen will probably bat under .200, but my curiosity on how he will perform defensively could outweigh my nerves about his bat at any moment and time is running out. Our closest look is 2036 when he came into the league, .201/.285/.301 in 108 starts, .998 fielding percentage, passed balls, 24 runners thrown out for a 33.8% and a 5.19 ERA. Madison didn't look great on the mound or on the field though. I'm not sure if my pitching or fielding is better than Madison in 2036, but at some point I might want to find out. Looking at Katzenbogen's stats you can see how I've struggled with the decision. His games started from 2038 on: 40, 35, 32, 33. He's gotten a consistent number of starts each season, but those numbers coincede with these at the plate: 25 for 130, 15 for 112, 18 for 113 and 18 for 117. Aside from his first season in Edmonton, all negative WAR. On a team that requires everyone to get on base to score runs, Katzenbogen will certainly bring down the team, if I had a team that was all homers and strikeouts, Katzenbogen would be an easy start.

FWIW, I've tried trading him, but no one wanted to give up anything even slightly interesting and it's not like I have a bunch of emerging catchers that can take his place.

[shoeless.db]

I know Katzenbogen will probably bat under .200,

It would be like having a pitcher bat -- just a complete hole in the lineup.

[crobillard]

Yeah, there's precedent for it, but I would definitely be at a disadvantage against the rest of the teams in the league.

[recte44]

I always wonder just how much difference a catcher that good will make in the pitching.

[crobillard]

I always wonder just how much difference a catcher that good will make in the pitching.

I wonder if it makes a difference at all. See 2040 Jackrabbits pitching staff vs. 2041 Jackrabbits pitching staff. No changes radically different results. That might be explained by the Offensive Boom of 2041 (some video game correction thing), but it certainly doesn't look like Fabre corrected anything last season and I believe in 2040 he had the best CERA among all starting catchers. It would be a fascinating test though and this is probably the best rotation I will have for the next four years, so it would be interesting to see a defensive catcher work full time over that period. It's something I'm seriously considering.

[RonCo]

I'm biased, but I've always liked fabre.